An unlikely group of blind veterans from the State of
Oklahoma has come together to learn how to assist their fellow veterans. Class A-225 began training last month to use
Google+ technology to learn how to become relay operators making phone calls
for deaf veterans. One veteran, Chuck
Smith of Edmond OK, shares his story.
Edmond, OK April 10, 2013
When class A-225 began training Chuck Smith was unsure where
his path would take him but he was full of optimism. Like many of the veterans in the class, Mr.
Smith has more than a few war stories under his belt and has lived a colorful
and fulfilling life.
Chuck was born in Rochester, NY and raised in the “great
state of Nebraska” as a farm boy in a small town called Stamford. When he was a young man, Chuck thought to
himself “I can stay here milking cows or I can join the Marine Corps”. And join the United States Marine Corps he
did. Mr. Smith went on to serve 8 years
in the Marines, served in Vietnam in ’67 and ’68 and was awarded the Purple
Heart and other medals for his actions.
After leaving the Marines, Chuck returned to Oklahoma where he met the
love of his life Nadine and has lived for 30 years in the town of Edmond. Chuck and Nadine have been married for 19
years, have sons in Salt Lake City, UT and Georgetown, KY; and have a
granddaughter that goes to Oklahoma University.
Chuck’s path to training with the Veterans Workshop to be a
relay operator for deaf veterans took him from helping others as an insurance
adjuster/home improvement salesman to Class A-255 where he is a squad leader
today. His current adventure happened
when a gentleman named John Laakman, a VIST coordinator (Visual Impairment
Services Team), from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Oklahoma called him
about a new program consisting of blind veterans training on Google technology
to work from home training to be relay operators. As Chuck puts it, “Being low-visioned I felt
captured in my house as I cannot drive and had been looking for some time for a
way to reach out and help my fellow veterans.
This relay operator program has opened a door for me that I thought had
been permanently closed. I have always
enjoyed helping people and now not only am I learning how to do that from home,
but I see infinite possibilities in where this can lead for both myself and the
veterans we can assist with this program.
This has been a life changing experience for me. I have become part of an amazing team and am
excited to be a part of this awesome program.”
Upon graduation from the program Mr. Smith is looking
forward to working either as a relay operator from home making calls for deaf
veterans or fine tuning his skills to be an instructor for the Veterans
Workshop and leading future classes of veterans.
The class that Chuck is in, A-225, adapted a quote from
Emerson and Mr. Smith completely sees the resemblance to his life now and where
it will go - “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no
path and leave a trail.”
About the Veterans Workshop: With offices in Rhode Island
and Washington, DC, the Veterans Workshop has developed unique training
programs for a subset of the disabled veterans community to include blind, deaf
and paralyzed veterans. Training for blind veterans is underway, with training
for deaf and paralyzed veterans expected in early fall.
Contact:
Hilary Snyder
hilary@veterans911.com
ph: 202-695-8103
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